Freedom, Contentment, Presence Part 5
Fini
Hebrews 13:5-6 ESV
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." [6] So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"
"I will not fear, what can man do to me?"
The fear of man is probably one of the most common sins that keeps us from breaking through from covetousness to contentment. "What will other people think?" "What will others say?"
We covet the approval or others and we are not content to be different. We want to fit in, to be a part of so we fear not fitting in or being a part of. We fear what people might say to us and of us. We fear that if we truly plant our feet for God we will be odd - peculiar - and hence be maligned and rejected.
Uhhhhhh - what part of the cost of discipleship did you not get? Did no one tell you that being rejected and maligned was part and parcel of the Christian walk? Did no one tell you that you have to REJECT the world to gain heaven? Being His means you are none of the world's. We are to be in and not of the world - but the cost is great and it can be painful.
What can man do to you if indeed you begin to grow from covetousness to contentment? Reject you? And why would you want to be accepted by those who wouldreject your growth in HIm, those who even reject Him? Why do we need that new suit or that new dress? Is it because the old are not wearable any more? Are the old rent and torn and unmendable? Then perhaps we do NEED those new clothes. Do we need that new anything? Do we even need the "thing" we have?
Christ came for one, to set us free - free from the penalty of sin - free from the power of sin but not from the presence of sin. So He gave us His presence in the Holy Spirit as a counselor and comforter - one who comes alongside to help. But are we addressing those things in our lives for which we need His help?
We choose comfort over contentment and then we wonder why our walks seen so halting and short. We wonder why we do not have the wind for the long haul. We limp along.
We live lives of bondage and that bondage is by choice - the choice to follow our covetous desires and the common covetousness of our culture. We are "wanting" oursevles into shallow, weak and ineffective lives in Christ.we are making the links in the chain that binds us to this world and the ways of this word. And so the author of Hebrews adminishes us - indeed commands us:
Hebrews 13:5-6 ESV
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." [6] So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"
Only in centering and building our lives on the gospel can we ever hope to fe free of covetousness, bound in contentment and living out the presence of the Lord in our hearts.
Oh, will you not see and allow the Spirit to convict your hearts of the covetousness in which you have become content and are bound by the fear of man. Will you not let Him drive you to yur knees crying out for the freedom He provides? Will you not repent of and reject the covetousness and face the rejection of man for your efforts?
Oh Lord, have mercy on me, a miserable sinner.
Showing posts with label world. Show all posts
Showing posts with label world. Show all posts
Monday, April 14, 2014
Friday, March 14, 2014
Uses of Affliction 03 031414
Uses of Afflcition 03
2. Excitation to duty, weaning one from this world, and prompting him to look after the happiness of the other world.
There is one wonderful scipture that encourages us in this:
1 John 2:15-17 NASB
Do not love the world nor the things in the world If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. [16] For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. [17] The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
We recently experienced some bad weather here and many people lost power. Nothing big but a good reminder of how attached we become to the comforts of this world and to the minimization of our looking to the comforts of the next. Afflictions, whatever their nature, are one way God not only gets our attention but moves us to action be it service, simplicity or paying more attention to the promises of the next world.
We need to be moved to duty. It's too easy to become complacent and lazy even in our duties. We get into a very comfortable rut and we just run along it day in and day out until we have become numb to what we ought to be about. Even in our duties we can become comfortable to our hurt.
Prayer can become perfuntory, Bible Study can become bland and worship can become worthless in the comfortable ease of the day to day. But God won't have that. He will and does bring afflictions that reveal the weakness and wantonness of our service. When God seems to withdraw we tend to draw closer.
This is a sad commentary on many of us - many many of us - so many of us that it seems to be the norm. And so God will bring a crook to our lot so we will see our error and repent.
Affilctions also wean us from the world. I made the comment while our power was on and our internet was off that there didn't seem much point to having power if we didn;t have the net. This is an example of how comfortable we can get with all the geegaws and gadgets we have and how we begin to rely upon them for way too much.
The loss or thereatened loss of material blessings can really demonstrate for us our dependence upon them to a neglect of depending upon God. And NO cheating - don;t try to tell me you depend upon God for your web connection - that's a stretch.
How many "things" do you really depend upon that get in the way of your dependence upon God. What would hurt the worst to lose? What can you not see yourself giving up? If you have "bad hair" days - days that are just ruined over the trivial material things then you may look for an affliction to wean you away from it.
Can you see how use 1 ties into use 2? Afflictions lead us to examine our faith and that examination has much to do with our attachment to this world and the "things" of it. Not only that but the "things" of this world have much to do with, "the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life." Which in turn has much to do with how much our hearts are set on the next world as opposed to being stuck on this one.
James writes:
James 1:2 NASB
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
And if we a serious about our faith we will wlecome these trials as God's gracious providence. Even with only uses 1 and 2 we can see how afflictions are, what I call, "left-handed blessings." They don't look like blessings, they don't feel like blessings, and they do not even small like blessings - but if they drive or move us to seriously examines, our service, our attachment to this world and our longing for the next they are indeed blessings.
2. Excitation to duty, weaning one from this world, and prompting him to look after the happiness of the other world.
There is one wonderful scipture that encourages us in this:
1 John 2:15-17 NASB
Do not love the world nor the things in the world If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. [16] For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. [17] The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
We recently experienced some bad weather here and many people lost power. Nothing big but a good reminder of how attached we become to the comforts of this world and to the minimization of our looking to the comforts of the next. Afflictions, whatever their nature, are one way God not only gets our attention but moves us to action be it service, simplicity or paying more attention to the promises of the next world.
We need to be moved to duty. It's too easy to become complacent and lazy even in our duties. We get into a very comfortable rut and we just run along it day in and day out until we have become numb to what we ought to be about. Even in our duties we can become comfortable to our hurt.
Prayer can become perfuntory, Bible Study can become bland and worship can become worthless in the comfortable ease of the day to day. But God won't have that. He will and does bring afflictions that reveal the weakness and wantonness of our service. When God seems to withdraw we tend to draw closer.
This is a sad commentary on many of us - many many of us - so many of us that it seems to be the norm. And so God will bring a crook to our lot so we will see our error and repent.
Affilctions also wean us from the world. I made the comment while our power was on and our internet was off that there didn't seem much point to having power if we didn;t have the net. This is an example of how comfortable we can get with all the geegaws and gadgets we have and how we begin to rely upon them for way too much.
The loss or thereatened loss of material blessings can really demonstrate for us our dependence upon them to a neglect of depending upon God. And NO cheating - don;t try to tell me you depend upon God for your web connection - that's a stretch.
How many "things" do you really depend upon that get in the way of your dependence upon God. What would hurt the worst to lose? What can you not see yourself giving up? If you have "bad hair" days - days that are just ruined over the trivial material things then you may look for an affliction to wean you away from it.
Can you see how use 1 ties into use 2? Afflictions lead us to examine our faith and that examination has much to do with our attachment to this world and the "things" of it. Not only that but the "things" of this world have much to do with, "the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life." Which in turn has much to do with how much our hearts are set on the next world as opposed to being stuck on this one.
James writes:
James 1:2 NASB
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
And if we a serious about our faith we will wlecome these trials as God's gracious providence. Even with only uses 1 and 2 we can see how afflictions are, what I call, "left-handed blessings." They don't look like blessings, they don't feel like blessings, and they do not even small like blessings - but if they drive or move us to seriously examines, our service, our attachment to this world and our longing for the next they are indeed blessings.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Unwitting Servant? 012213
"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Mat 6:24)
These are the words with which Jesus begins His teaching concerning - well, concern, worry, fear, anxiety, etc.
I think I am learning more about this as every day passes. If God is God and He is my God (and I am His child) then what Jesus says after this is wonderful news. But if I have been seduced and blinded by sin, if I have bought into the world's game plan then perhaps it is still wonderful news but it is frightening news as well.
I must confess that I can see a "two master" part in my heart and mind. All my worry and anxiety comes from a fear of not having, well, money. When I had money I was at peace. Now that money is scarce I find my peace fluctuating and my anxiety gripping me terribly at times.
Is it indeed a desire to trust two mutually exclusive masters that causes me so much distress? I really have to admit that I really think it is. My thoughts, at times, seem to revolve around the lack of Mammon and what that may bring with it.
How can I claim to be His when I struggle so much with my dependency upon Mammon - my fear concerning it - my very real and practical need for it?
It has been tough times for a lot of us. But I haven't missed a meal, I have clothes, I have shelter, I even have gas in my car. So why am I anxious? Simple, there are coming needs I know and coming needs I suspect and coming needs I know nothing of that taunt me and rattle my cage. While all the time (today) I am well provided for.
And who, pray tell, other than my God can I thank for this? No one! Today I am well - very well cared and provided for. More than I need today!
I'll be honest enough to tell you a big factor is, "What will people think?" Will they think me a fool, irresponsible, a wastrel, a bum, a nut? We have lived our lived committed to serving Him (poorly but sincerely) trusting Him in what we believed was our calling and He has never failed us.
But even though we have surrendered many things our culture tells us we are supposed to "have," and "do," I have not really let go of it all. I still had to have what I wanted but did not need. So as we struggle I have to take my licks and learn my lesson that I have flirted with and at times surrendered to the lust o the eye, the lust o the flesh and OH boy - the pride of life.
I write this and am doing this series in order to grow. Perhaps you will see some of yourself in what I am learning - perhaps not. But I pray God will bring me to His peace which is only found when I look only to Him for it. I must hate that "other" god I have danced with and stand with my true God.
May God bless you, comfort you and strengthen you as He walks with you through whatever circumstance you find yourself in.
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